Thread by @djwyliestylieee

Death Row Records had limitless potential and could’ve been much bigger than it was. A lot of albums say on the shelf. A thread.

Albums we’ve already covered previously:
RBX
Lady of Rage Eargasm
Snoop Doggystyle 2
Untitled 94 Compilation
OG MWTC Soundtrack
Sam Sneed Street Scholars
Dr. Dre Chronic 2
Dre Cube Helter Skelter

One of Dr. Dre’s musical powerhouses to Doggystyle was Sean Barney Rubble Thomas. He played many instruments on key tracks for Snoop and was recording an untitled solo album of R&B tracks around 94-95. Bangers for sure.

Tyrone Wrice once was a member of R&B group B Rezell which recorded the track Horny for Murder Was The Case. Another track In The Rain has surfaced. The group disbanded and Wrice later became Hurt M Badd and served as a “wack room” producer who made beats on Makaveli 7 Day Theory

Initially recording albums with Marky Mark, Prince Ital Joe was a reggae artist signed to Death Row. He recorded with Pac, Snoop and others. An unreleased solo album of his leaked out in 2018 intended for release in the mid to late 90s.

In 1996, Michel’le was recording an album called Single Black Female after her split from a toxic relationship with Dr. Dre. Some songs have leaked but the album never dropped and two years later we got Hung Jury.

J Flexx was one of Dre’s biggest writers for Cali Love NBK and Heads Ringin’. He was recording an album called Billboard Dreams for the label due in 96-97. He later dropped music independently.

Dogg Pound were walking on a follow up album with West Coast Aftershocc in 1996. It’s unclear how many tracks were recorded but tracks like Tremendous Odds and Jack Move have leaked. Album was scrapped and never released.

Riding high off his soundtrack appearances as well as collabs with Pac, Danny Boy recorded 2-3 albums of material with Devante Swing and DJ Quik. An advance promo copy leaked but nothing was released until a repurposed album in Its About Time dropped in 2010.

Already a huge superstar, MC Hammer recorded an entire album at Desth Row titled Too Tight which has since leaked and a few copies have been pressed up several years after its recording. Tracks include Unconditional Love and Too Tight which Pac penned.

Another disclaimer we won’t talk about Pac’s albums since that will be its own thread on June 16.

Considered to be a knockoff of 2Pac by many, The Realest recorded many albums worth of material doing his best Pac impersonation and dissing his enemies. He made appearances on soundtracks and compilations but no album was officially released through Death Row due to reception.

Outlawz had an album ready to go to stand on their own two called Retribution due out in 1997. It would go unreleased until 2010 long after they had a slew of independent releases.

There was also the shelved Too Gangsta For Radio 2 that contained tracks from Redrum 781 and newer Row artists like Eastwood and Crooked I.

Legendary G Funk pioneers Above The Law signed to Desth Row to record their 7th album Sex Money and Music between 2000-2002 while Big Hutch was VP of the company. Their album didn’t drop til 2009 independently.

Although he was considering signing in the 90s after Return of the Mack’s success, Mark Morrison would later sign in the early 2000s after a stint in prison. He had an album Innocent Man due for release in 2002. A repurposed album with weaker production value dropped in 2006.

Young Soldierz was a group consisting of Big Wy, Dogg, Lil Stretch, G Pops and Yank. They signed to Death Row from 94-98 for an album deal after an independent debut. They dropped a song on MWTC soundtrack but many tracks are unreleased.

Crooked I was around Death Row studios as far back as 95 but he wasn’t officially signed. He signed to Tha Row and recorded numerous albums of material for his debut Say Hi To The Bad Guy. Nothing materialized due to Suge Knight being blackballed.

Eastwood was also due to drop an album on Tha Row in the early 2000s entitled Tha Problem Child Born 2 B Hated. It leaked out recently but never dropped officially. Eastwood later signed to the New No Limit Records.

Another group signed to Death Row that faded into obscurity is Murder IV Hire from 1994. Not much is known about this group but you can find a few gems on YouTube.

OFTB aka Operation From The Bottom was a group of Bloods from Watts. They appeared on Above The Rim and later recorded an album of so of material on Death Row with collabs with Pac, Outlawz and Kurupt. A demo leaked a few years back and an album Damn Near Dead was pressed up.

Jewel had a solo album Black Diamond due out on Death Row around 1996 after featuring on The Chronic and All Eyez On Me. The album leaked in 2011.

There also are reports of a singer Gina Longo with very little information and of course the album didn’t materialize.

I Solo of Def Squad was a close affiliate of Sam Snead and recorded an album for Death Row in the mid 90s. A handful of tracks like Rhaq Rhaq and 16 Dead Doggs leaked online.

As infamously mentioned by Pac in the 96 VMAS, Death Row East was a definite move. A compilation was due out to have features from Eric B & Rakim, Melle Mell, Nice & Smooth, Craig Mack and others. It never materialized.

Having sung hooks for numerous OG tracks for 2Pac and appearing on a Christmas album, 6 Feet Deep recorded at least an album of material during their time on Death Row. Tracks like Because if You and July Halloween are absolute gems.

Chocolate the writer credited behind Vanilla Ice’s Ice Ice Baby had an album that dropped independently in 93 tied to the Death Row name that went under the radar.

CJ Mac had an album due out on Death Row Records that never materialized as well.

Dresta from Ruthless had a planned album on Death Row as well as K 9. They dropped songs on compilations but nothing materialized.

Before Nipsey got on and built his brand, he recorded a demo tape for Death Row that you can find on YouTube. #LLNH #TMC 🏁🏁🏁🏁🏆🏆🏆🏆

Kurupt signed back to Tha Row in 2002-2003 and eventually released Against The Grain in 2005 on the label. But it wasn’t as strong an effort as the original version which Daz put out in 2002-2003.

Left Eye also finished an album under her new name NINA (New Identity Non Applicable) before her tragic passing. The album has since leaked out online.

Death Row East was mentioned earlier. Albums were planned for Craig Mack, Grandmaster Melle Mell and the Furious Five, Eric B and Rakim, Nice & Smooth and also Bobby Brown. None of these projects came to fruition through Death Row.

Rhythm N Knowledge from Above The Rim soundtrack also had a Death Row album as well as RedRum 781 and Bloody Mary.

Storm from The Outlawz was due to drop a solo album on Death Row after numerous collabs with Pac. Nothing materialized on the label.

Some other artists with very little info on:
BGOTI
Bad Habitz
Doobie (Death Row South)
Fuskee
German
Guess (Darryl Gerdine and Detron Irons)
Heiroshema
Ceigi
Hour of Chaos
Serenade
Da Bastardz

SKG or Suge Knight’s Girl was an artist on Tha Row who recorded a few songs but nothing materialized.

CPO Boss Hogg recorded numerous songs on the label throughout the 90s and had an album planned after appearing on 2Pac’s All Eyez On Me.

El Dorado, Gail Gotti, and J Valentine all had albums due out on Death Row and made a few appearances on compilations.

LBC Crew consisted of So Sentrelle, Soopafly, Tray Dee, C Style and Bad Azz due out on Snoop’s Doggystyle Records imprint through Death Row around 96/97. C Style got into an argument with Snoop and destroyed the master recordings. The album Haven’t U Heard was repurposed in 2011.

Spider Loc recorded an album or two that didn’t drop due to Suge being blackballed. He left to go sign with 50 Cent and G Unit where his album was shelved as well.

Other artists also intended to drop:
Swoop Gee
Tray Dee solo (later drop indie)
YSG
Virginya Slim (voiceover on Me & My Girlfriend)
Keyshia Cole (signed as a teen)
Shyne (deal on the table in 2004)
Reddbone
Ray J
Tre Deuce
Warlord

Petey Pablo was in talks of signing and recorded at least 3-4 albums worth of material. He was prepping the Pac inspired Same Eyez On Me which was later released independently in late 2010s along with mixtapes of other songs.

A compilation called Inside Out was due out in 1998 showcasing artists like Doobie and The Realest amongst others.

YGD The Top Dogg was seen as a Snoop clone for the label. He appears on the video version of All About U by Pac and his albums were shelved. It didn’t help that he did a diss to Biggie after his death.

Lackey The Kid from Queens was the last artist to sign to Death Row East. He was on the label in 2005-6 to beef with Prodigy and Nas. It was short lived and his album Kayidee was shelved.

Other obscure artists:
The Bandits
Graveyard Crew
Rona
Freddy Ranks
Trigger
Mistaken Identity
AK
Lil Nik
LA Nash
Scrilla
VK
Foesum

Emmage or Ebony Men Musically Able to Give Entertainment worked with Dr. Dre on The Chronic and had music for the label. Nothing materialized.

Lord G was also signed to the label and dropped a song Mi Moni Rite on the Cassette version of Above The Rim soundtrack. An album was intended but didn’t drop.

Soopafly was due to drop Like It Or Not as an LP after it s as pleaded on Chronic 2000. The album never materialized and Soopafly went independent and worked with Snoop and Doggystyle Records.

After Retaliation Revenge and Get Back dropped in 1998, Daz had plans for a movie and soundtrack called What It Iz. Nothing materialized and Daz left the label.

Snoop Dogg recorded a lot of music for Doggfather so much so that there was a planned sequel Doggfather II: Corleone’s Revenge and Doggumentary EP. Versions of these albums leaked online and other tracks were released for Dead Man Walkin and Snoop Greatest Hits compilations.

Death Row was really a missed opportunity. It lost its greatest producer and curator in Dre, its greatest visionary and artist in Pac and lost complete direction as Snoop left and Suge was behind bars.

In 2001, Suge attempted to rebuild when he got out of prison with Tha Row Records but he was blackballed like crazy so anyone associated had to sit on the shelf. Kurupt and remixed 2Pac albums along with remixed DPG and Snoop albums were the only projects pushed.

We’re in luck though. General Manager John Payne said that for the 30th anniversary they are planning on releasing 10,000 tracks out the vault and getting artists paid. They also are signing and producing new artists to keep it going. We’ll see how it works out.

Thanks for checking out another thread. DR has a lot of gems.

Stylie